COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 2, 2019) – The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team was selected as one of three finalists for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of September, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes and teams in the month of September.
Fans are invited to vote online for the U.S. Women at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight on Monday, Oct. 7. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting.
The U.S. Women earned the silver medal at the 2019 FIVB World Cup, finishing with a 10-1 record and improving their 2019 tournament record to 40-6. The Americans defeated top-ranked Serbia, No. 4 Brazil and No. 5 Russia during the 11-match, 16-day tournament played in Japan. The U.S. is the only country to have medaled in each of the last five World Cup events played in the year prior to Olympic Games.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “We played a great tournament. All 14 of our players made really important and critical contributions to that. We had one disappointing loss to China – they are playing a very good tournament. But we have a lot to be excited about. We look forward to coming back here in way less than a year for the 2020 Olympics.”
The U.S. Women have one additional tournament in 2019, which is the biennial NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The zonal tournament is being held Oct. 8-13 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Women have won gold this year at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League, the Pan American Cup and the NORCECA Champions Cup. But the biggest highlight was qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games by winning the Tokyo Qualification Tournament on home soil Aug. 2-4 in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana.
“I think this summer has been really exciting for our team with new and younger faces getting an opportunity to play at a high level,” said Kelsey Robinson, who was named World Cup Best Outside Hitter. “I think we have a lot of potential and room for growth. We have NORCECA to go back to and I think we can be a great team come 2020. We had the World Championship here last year and the World Cup this year and going into the Olympics [being here] is only going to help us with what to expect and to perform at the highest level.”